Endospore and Acid Fast stains are both heated but for sligh

Endospore and Acid Fast stains are both heated, but for slightly different reasons. Why is acid-fast stain heated?

To weaken the waxy cell wall temporarily

To remove the cell wall so the primary dye would enter the cell.

To neutralize the charges on the cell wall so the dye would not be repelled.

To weaken the cell membrane and to allow the dye to enter the cell.

Solution

Endospores are biochemically very sturdy components which are highly resistant to chemical and physical strssors. However, in order to visualize the endospores, routine biological staining procedures generally fail. It has been found that harsh treatment of endospores with acids open up the pores of outer resistant layer and promotes inward movement of staining dyes. In order to enhance staining process, heat is often applied along with acids. This is why acid-fast staining is often followed for staining highly resistant endospores. Importantly,acid fast staining utlizes treatment of endospores with acids. These acids hydrolyze the phospholipids present in the cell wall and the waxy lipid-like structures thus weakening them. This helps in penetration of dyes in endospores such as in Mycobacterium.

This information suggests that choice A is correct.